In 2021, Gukesh Dommaraju made history by becoming the youngest player to win the men’s Candidates chess tournament at just 17 years old. His triumph came after a tense final day of competition, where he secured a draw against Hikaru Nakamura. However, the turning point in the tournament came when American Fabiano Caruana made a critical error against Russia’s Ian Nepomniachtchi, allowing Gukesh to take the lead with Nakamura and Nepomniachtchi finishing behind him.
Gukesh ended the tournament with a score of 9/14 while Nakamura, Nepomniachtchi, and Caruana finished with 8.5/14. The previous youngest winner of a men’s Candidates tournament was Garry Kasparov, who achieved this feat at the age of 20 in 1984. Just a year later, Kasparov went on to win the world champion title against fellow Russian Anatoly Karpov. This marked a significant milestone in Gukesh’s young career, cementing his status as a rising star in the world of chess.